I was recently fortunate to be jetboated up the Whanganui River to collect plants. I hadn’t been in a jetboat before, but more significant than the fun of that novelty, it was a wonderful opportunity to get into an area whose botany has been little studied. The Department of Conservation’sRead more

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Adult white-bellied sea eagle in flight, Kakadu National Park, Northern Territory, Australia, April 2007. Photographer: Sonja Ross © Sonja Ross, courtesy NZ Birds Online.

Packed full of stunning pictures, detailed information and beautiful bird calls, NZ Birds Online is an online encyclopaedia of birds created in collaboration between Te Papa, DOC and OSNZ. We’re indebted to the photographers who’ve shared their images with us – and now the world! Sonja Ross is the next intrepid birder in our Meet the photographers series.Read more

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Congratulations to Phil Garnock-Jones on being awarded the Nancy Burbidge medal, for his longstanding and significant contribution to Australasian systematic botany. Phil is the first New Zealander to receive the award, which is the highest bestowed by the Australasian Systematic Botany Society. Systematic botany is the study of the relationships, naming, andRead more

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What will you find at the beach this summer? Join Te Papa scientists online at 1.30pm today, as they show you some of the amazing animals and plants you can find on your beach holidays. We’ll be talking about glow-in-the-dark invertebrates, how to tell the difference between coastal birds, andRead more

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Sometimes, nature throws up something that’s weirder than you can possibly imagine. Take a look at these pictures – do you know what they are? Clue: They’re both young versions of the same animal. Any ideas? Our Curator of Invertebrates, Rick Webber, will reveal all during Science Live: Coastal CreaturesRead more

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Like many Kiwis, to me there are only three types of seaweed: Seaweed Beachus – seaweed washed up at the beach; Seaweed Sushius – seaweed used in sushi; and Seaweed Fish Linius – seaweed that your fishing line gets tangled in. But that terrible seaweed joke, aside from demonstrating myRead more

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Adult morepork with juvenile. Blowhard Bush, Hawkes Bay, January 2013. Photographer: Adam Clarke © Adam Clarke, courtesy NZ Birds Online

Packed full of stunning pictures, detailed information and beautiful bird calls, NZ Birds Online is an online encyclopaedia of birds created in collaboration between Te Papa, DOC and OSNZ. We’re indebted to the photographers who’ve shared their images with us – and now the world! Joining us for our Meet the photographers series is Adam Clarke, who had the privilegeRead more

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Amorphophallus titanum in flower, Auckland Domain Wintergarden, 01 December 2013. Photo credit Auckland Council.

Yesterday in Auckland there was a long line of people waiting for a glimpse of something special. This wasn’t the queue for a Justin Bieber concert – the star of this show was a plant! The big attraction was a huge inflorescence of a titan arum (Amorphophallus titanium – the scientificRead more

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Wayward boy – the emperor penguin on Peka Peka Beach, 21 June. Photo: Colin Miskelly © Te Papa

Tell our scientists which coastal creatures you’d like to know more about in Science Live: Coastal creatures. Email sciencelive@tepapa.govt.nz with your suggestions! Walking along many of the beaches in my native UK, I had my head down, ignoring the beautiful view and the pounding waves of the slate grey sea. Instead, I’d beRead more

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Nearly 50 people are attending this year’s John Child Bryophyte and Lichen Workshop in Ohakune.  Bryophytes include mosses and liverworts.  The Workshop is a focussed opportunity to study these small plants.  Although usually overlooked, they actually make a huge contribution to forest biomass and functioning.  Mosses and liverworts reproduce byRead more

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